AXLE MATE - Wheel Bearing Protectors and trailer services

12/05/2026

12/05/2026

This is for guys that are new to oil filled axles and are not aware of this little ridge and the challenges one can face

06/05/2026

So yesterday day we got one of these into the shop, boats been towed up from eastern Cape, splinter nuut, going for export to Mauritius....stunning boat. I must say our local boat builders are really improving their build quality.......so back to the pics . The front right and back left seals are leaking, first time I worked on one of these so t was interesting, but shortcoming immediately noticed.....it's a s**t system finish and klaar...they were lucky not to drop a bearing as most of the oil had leaked out

For. the cost it's cheaper to fit axle mates, you can NEVER EVER loose the grease and as long as you keep it topped up you can NEVER get water into the hub,as the system will push the grease through the leaking seal and you will have a wall of grease as a barrier preventing water ingress

Yours in safe towing
Rob

27/04/2026

Maintenance post

Be very cautious when buying a second hand trailer that has an oil filled axle.....if regular maintenance was not done, like replacing the seals , you could be in for a very very heavy repair bill....

We busy getting a boat and trailer ready for the the new customer and the trailers axle has the following issue

Brake disc cracked through, so one new hub please.... don't want to know what that cost, bearings also need replacing as water got into the system

How did that happen, the journals are grooved The seals have gone hard over time and have grooved the journals , this allowing oil out , moisture in

Axle need to be sent to engineering to be machined.

Just cause you have an oil filled axle doesn't mean they are maintenance free, don't wait for the seals to start leaking , they should be replaced on a scheduled time frame, check with manufacturer in these timings

As always yours in safe towing

25/04/2026

Nice to see some Axle mates at work on the beach

01/04/2026

Saving petrol

Nothing increases fuel consumption like under inflated tyres. Make sure the tyres are at the correct pressure all round to get best fuel economy out of them...

24/03/2026

Maintenance

This is a drive shaft from a Yamaha ,200 hp 4 stroke, around 600 hrs....boat is kept on a mooring and motors were flushed semi regularly using the fittings in the motor.... chaps if you keep your boat in a mooring insure proper and lengthy flushes and it won't hurt pulling the boat out every so often and giving the motors a good flush using ear muff's and salt removing products

It was salt build up around the shaft that caused the braeks

18/01/2026

AXLE MATES HARD AT WORK

So this trailer has had axle mates for Abt three years now,

Customer took it to a boat shop in December , to have new brakes fitted before their planned trip to mozam
They ried to convince him that the trailer needed new bearings, he disputed, they came back and apologized saying bearings are still 100%

That's 3 years of cost saving in bearings, labour, time out your day taking trailer back and forth and let's not forget fuel for your towing vechile

The below is me checking them after he came back from Inhambane, were they had some weather issues with the whole trailer , part of the boat and the part of the Cruzer under water

Checked my special coating on the brake shoe frames and there is not a mark of rust on them

Check the bearings , not a drop of water in the hubs and you can hear from the rotation all is happy in there.

Also that is how you check your bearings with axle mate, no need to remove axle mate, just jack it up rotate the wheel and as long as there is no rumble in the middle if the jungle, top up and go

26/12/2025

With WR Fishing – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉